For Western Illinois University art professor Bruce Walters of Davenport, a 37-year career teaching in higher education has been accentuated by the personal artwork he’s created, in a wide variety of media. As he prepares to retire from teaching in May, an exhibit of part of his inspired work — titled “What the Hand Dare Seize the Fire?” — is on display at the University Art Gallery in Macomb through April 2. The title of the current exhibit is taken from a 227-year-old poem, “The Tyger,” by William Blake. “The first drawings in this exhibition are drawn from... Read More

The Western Illinois University Art Gallery will host a solo exhibition, “Disjunction and Other Works,” by Starkville, MS artist Ming Ying Hong through Feb. 19. Hong is an interdisciplinary artist who have exhibited throughout the United States, including at the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis, MO, and the Ice Box Gallery in Philadelphia, PA. Her work has been featured in many publications – most recently, in MANIFEST Gallery’s International Drawing Annual. Ming received her BFA from the University of Kentucky, and was a Danforth Scholar at Washington University in... Read More

Welcome to the QuadCities.com Virtual Art Gallery! In this feature, we’re spotlighting area artists and their work. Every Tuesday we’ll feature a new local artist. It’s free and our way of showcasing awesome area artists and allowing them to include a link to their own online gallery or patreon! If you’d like to be included in the gallery, just send your bio, a headshot pic of yourself and up to a half-dozen .jpgs of your art to Sean@QuadCities.com. We look forward to adding YOU to the gallery!   Like last week’s artist, Les Bell, today’s featured artist is also a local... Read More

Anyone can be an artist, and while the fourth-annual Chalk Art Fest won’t be able to gather in person this year, Quad City Arts is committed to bringing this colorful street art event to the community. So it will take place virtually from Aug. 15 to 28 and anyone and everyone is invited to participate. Chalk artists can create their work safely at home, on their driveway, sidewalk, porch or balcony. Snap a photo of your masterpiece and send to Quad City Arts (via website or e-mail) by Aug. 28 at 3 p.m., and be eligible for over $1,500 in cash prizes, including a youth category (for ages 12-17)... Read More

Welcome to the QuadCities.com Virtual Art Gallery! In this feature, we’re spotlighting area artists and their work. Every Tuesday we’ll feature a new local artist. It’s free and our way of showcasing awesome area artists and allowing them to include a link to their own online gallery or patreon! If you’d like to be included in the gallery, just send your bio, a headshot pic of yourself and up to a half-dozen .jpgs of your art to Sean@QuadCities.com. We look forward to adding YOU to the gallery! Our latest artist is Glen Lowry! Glen’s work is mostly in the prints and painting realms,... Read More

As a center in the Quad-Cities for comfort during grief, and celebration of life, Trimble Pointe is using art to reflect both. The nearly six-year-old facility at 701 12th St., Moline, recently commissioned Detroit artist Marcus Glenn to create three mixed-media hearts which are now on permanent display in the entrance atrium of Trimble Pointe, as a colorful sign of support for the community, especially healthcare workers and first responders during the Covid-19 pandemic. The three unique mixed-media paintings are entitled  “Look for Love Among the Chaos,” “See Love Among the Chaos,” and... Read More

After so many shutdowns, economic devastation, and death caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, there’s something new and life-affirming opening in the Quad-Cities art scene. The Excelsior Studio and Galleria – owned by self-employed artist Melody Sloat, and her husband Jacob – will open Friday in a former antique shop at 13013 N. 700th Ave. (Route 19), in Cambridge, Ill., 40 minutes southeast of Moline. The couple bought the historic building, and did much clearing, repairs and renovations in preparation to open. (For more information, check out their Facebook page.) “It’s always been a dream.... Read More

Quad City Arts’ online exhibit through June 19, 2020, will be photography by Ken Urban of Durant, IA and paintings by Margaret Ertz, of Burlington, IA. Ken Urban’s photographs tell a story. He travels the backroads of the Midwest with his camera in hand. This show is about the forgotten silos that blanket the countryside, no longer in use, but towering symbols of days gone by. In the rural American landscape, with its ever-changing farm practices and abandoned barns on the verge of collapse, the silos are often the only reminder of the past. Occasionally a tree blooms and grows in the protection... Read More

Art in the Garden will bloom Saturday, August 1, 2020 at 9 AM – 4 PM at Quad City Botanical Center, 2525 4th Ave., Rock Island. Local and regional artists including jewelers, photographers, painters, woodworkers, fabric artists, and others who are inspired by nature to create, will exhibit and sell their art pieces at this outdoor show. The handcrafted works will be on display in tents throughout the gardens and a variety of art price points are offered. $8 adults | $4 members and kids 5-15 Free for kids 4 and younger Pay at the door, no RSVP required The call for entry for artists is open here.  Read More

Kick off Mardi Gras right here in the Quad Cities, with the Eighth annual Cajun Cook-Off to benefit the Figge Art Museum! The spicy gig will be held at the Rhythm City Casino Event Center on Fat Tuesday, February 25, from 5-8 p.m. Eleven local chefs will be stationed around the Event Center at the Rhythm City Casino. Each chef will be cooking Cajun-inspired dishes for guests to sample and vote for their favorite. Participating chefs include Chef Aaron McMahon from Davenport Country Club, Chef Gary Ames from Rhythm City Casino, Chef Shawn Timmerman from The Tangled Wood, Chef Mark Thompson from... Read More